‘Bates Motel’ Premiere Ratings Hit A&E Drama High

Guess a lot of people are checking in to A&E Network’sBates Motel. The premiere of the Psycho prequel series last night pulled in 3 million viewers for its 10 PM debut. Bates Motel garnered 1.599 million viewers int the adults 18-49 demographic and 1.633 million in adults 25-54. Those numbers make the series the most-watched original drama in the key demos in the network’s history. The previous demo drama high was the debut of Breakout Kings on March 6, 2011, which received 1.564 million viewers in 25-54 and 1.522 million in 18-49. Bates Motel ended up drawing 4.6 million viewers overall Monday, with an encore airing after the original premiere; put together, that gave Bates 2.5 million adults 25-54 and 2.4 million adults 18-49. The series details the dark backstory of Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and how deeply intricate his relationship is with his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga).